Diane Duane wonders if she should self-publish trilogy conclusion

Diane Duane, the author of the wildly popular young adult fantasy series Young Wizards (among other novels) published two-thirds of a trilogy, To Visit the Queen, in the nineties. But her publisher declined to publish the third volume due to low sales for the first two. She gets bombarded by fans with requests for book three and now she's opened a discussion on her blog about what she should do to make the long-lost third book available:

The outline for the third book, The Big Meow, was completed in 1998. The series' then-editor at Warner read it and liked it, but after consulting with the sales staff -- as editors must -- she passed on it: what we both knew at that point was that the first two books weren't selling anything like strongly enough to justify taking the gamble of publishing the third one. So I sighed and put the outline away. (For those who're curious, it completes the trilogy, and -- like the second book -- has a strong time-travel component: but this one's set in just-post-WWII Los Angeles. Those who remember the film "Cast a Deadly Spell" will immediately catch something of the intended atmosphere.)...

The obvious solution to this problem is publication on demand (POD). I don't mind doing that. But you have to understand that it ain't cheap at the reader's end. Without dragging you all through the math -- which would take me a while, and I have enough trouble with math after the caffeine hits, let alone before it -- let's just say that a "trade paperback" perfect-bound copy of The Big Meow is going to cost you hardcover prices, not paperback. If I'm to make any money at all on the deal (by which I mean, at least recoup my publishing and labor expenses), you're going to be paying $20-25 for a copy of this book.

Link (Thanks, idogcow!)